The present invention relates to a timepiece comprising a body forming a case inside which is accommodated a clockwork-movement, said body having at least two separate faces on which are respectively disposed first and second display means driven by the clockwork-movement.
Timepieces corresponding to the above general definition are already known. The documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,236,239, 4,493,561, U.S. Des 352 469, DE 43 22 471, U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,381, EP 1 070 997, WO 01/07970, EP 1 189 117 or EP 1 189 118 describe for example solutions in which the first and second display means are disposed on two opposite faces of the same body forming a case, this body being capable of being formed by a single case or by two independent half-cases which are immovably attached the one to the other. These solutions entail turning over the body forming the case in order to uncover alternatively the first or second display means and sometimes require more or less complex mechanisms to permit this turning-over, just like the solutions described in the documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,236,239, 4,493,561, U.S. Des 352 469, DE 43 22 471, EP 1 189 117 or EP 1 189 118. The solutions described in the documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,381, EP 1 070 997 and WO 01/07970 are structurally simpler insofar as it is sufficient to turn the timepiece over in its entirety, this entailing the use of a reversible strap in the case of an application as a wrist-watch.
Solutions in which the body forming the case is made up of two articulated cases or half-cases are also known, for example from the documents CH 680 329 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,513. Finally, solutions employing two separate cases are also known as the document U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,846 shows. These configurations necessarily entail each case including its own clockwork-movement.
A disadvantage common to all the above-mentioned solutions lies in the fact that the two display means cannot be visible simultaneously. Certain of the envisaged configurations entail moreover the presence of two separate clockwork-movements to drive the display means.
To complete the explanation of the prior art, one can also cite the document CH 655 633 which presents a timepiece comprising first and second cases (an upper case and a lower case) mounted pivoting with respect to each other about a pivoting axis substantially perpendicular to the general plane of the cases. The two cases can occupy a first closed position in which the upper case is superposed on the lower case and masks the front face of the lower case, and a second open position in which the upper case is pivoted relative to the lower case in order to uncover the front face of the latter. However this is a timepiece in which the upper case includes a clockwork-movement and associated means for displaying the time and in which the lower case comprises a compass. It will be understood that the clockwork-movement is integrally mounted in the upper case and is totally independent of the mechanism accommodated in the lower case, i.e. the compass.